Cravings

I miss Tex-Mex.

The first thing I do when I get back to the States will be to get some good 'ole chips and salsa and some guacamole. I cannot wait. The existence of Mexican food here is slim to none, and I fully look forward to getting some the minute I get back home.

I miss ice.

Europeans don't use ice here. It's really a strange concept. I assume from the lack of clean tap water, but still, it's just strange. So yes, ice is another thing that I miss from home. Ice in addition to free water at restaurants, and not having to buy "still" water.

...

We went to Rome this weekend, and it was very fun! Getting to see all the things you read about in your history books, and actually going inside the colleseum was great. Definitely an unforgettable experience. And besides the unbelievable heat, the city was neat, and we got to ride the Metro back in forth- Rome is HUGE.

We went to the Trevi Fountain and made a wish and threw coins in the fountain. Ashley made 3 wishes on one coin, to which the guys shook their head. But she went back and did it again and only wished once, so we're hoping maybe that will cancel out the other two? Better experience at the Trevi Fountain than the hog fountain in Florence that you let your coin roll of the snout and into the grate at the bottom... Hers didn't go in on the first try, and not realizing you could try again, picked it up and threw it in. The guys all put their hands on their heads and said. " Noooooooo!!" Haha, it was definitely a funny experience, since we didn't know that throwing it in yourself dooms you to "never come back to Florence." She plans on coming back next summer just to spite the silly tale and hog. I, once again, support her endeavors.

One of the best/coolest things about Rome was all the water pumps around the city pumping fresh water from the aquaducts in the mountains that you could refill your water bottle up with. It was great! And it was FREEZING COLD! Which was absolutely wonderful.

We also went to mass at St. Peters in the Vatican on Sunday morning before we left, which was just so interesting, and really a once in a lifetime opportunity! Unbelievable. But very hard to understand Latin.

After tripping all over Rome- literally I tripped at least 5 times a day, and slipped down a crosswalk- you'd be surprised how slippery the dang things are! We were sooo glad to get back to Florence and to cooler weather- weather that we had previously thought was insanely hot.

I can't believe I left out our adventure at Heidi's hostel in Switzerland on my last post, so I will definitely update that later. Because Heidi and Herberts is definitely a tale that one cannot forget.